Hello everyone — I’m grateful to be here. I spent about 31 years in fire and EMS, serving in both volunteer and career roles. Over time I had the opportunity to serve in a number of different positions, from working on the line to leadership roles including Deputy Director of an EMS agency and Chief of Staff for the State Fire Marshal. Today I serve primarily as a public safety chaplain and wellness coordinator. When I think about the question “what part of the job still echoes in you?” it’s not just a single call. For me it’s the quiet weight that accumulates over time — the scenes that stay with you, the families you remember years later, and sometimes the moral injury that comes when institutions you trusted don’t live up to the values you believed in. Like many responders, I eventually had to confront my own struggles with PTSI and the deeper impact of years in the job. That experience pushed me toward the work I focus on now — helping responders find healthier ways to process trauma, rebuild trust, and support one another. One of the things that has helped me the most is realizing that healing often happens in community, when people who understand the work can speak honestly with one another. I’m looking forward to learning from the conversations here and walking alongside others who are doing the work of healing and helping. I believe in what @Ruth Donahue is trying to do here and I am looking forward to watching this group continue to take off!

@Ruth Donahue I have found that being part of a regional peer support team (it just happens to be the one I founded!) helps keep me connected. The truth is that my nonprofit did not set out to become a peer team, but the need was so great that we couldn’t ignore it.

This is amazing. Can't wait to check it out!